CLAY COUNTY – Residents don’t believe what Portlanders are doing in Oregon to be peaceful.

If you’ve turned on the TV or scrolled through social media in the past two months, you’ve likely seen what’s happening in Portland. There have been protesters versus police for quite a few weeks, but it’s recently become something more than that as federal officers have moved into the city. Some people believe the federal police to be in line and others believe their acts to be unconstitutional. If you asked Clay County residents what they think of it all, their answer is clear.

“I do not see protesters,” resident Sue Ferris said. “I see domestic terrorists destroying public and private property. I see domestic terrorists physically attacking the local and federal police. I see domestic terrorists destroying an American city.”

Ferris said she believes what the federal police are doing to be constitutional and necessary to quell the unrest of the protestors. The government’s main job is to provide safety to citizens and that’s what the federal police are doing, according to Ferris.

Resident Janice Touchton agreed. She said the people protesting aren’t protestors and that they are instead anarchists. The feds need to go in and clean the house, she said. Others cite specific examples of what they believe protestors to be doing unlawfully. Mark Houston said setting a courthouse on fire is a criminal felony, not an act of protest.

Michael Hull said the second a protestor goes from peacefully protesting to throwing rocks through windows or lighting things on fire is when protesting becomes something more.

There are those though that believe what the federal police are doing in Portland to be unjust.

“I believe the Feds should secure federal buildings and leave the local buildings,” Oregon-born-and-raised, Jody Cabrera, said. “From what I’ve seen, parts of [Portland] are a mess. However, the local government is elected. If that is what the people elected, so be it.”

Teresa Sanday said what’s happening is democracy in action and that 99% of the protestors are exercising what rights they do have. She said it’s important that those rights aren’t taken away because of a “small faction, sometimes intentional agitators.”

“What happened to ‘states need to take care of themselves first,’ when the pandemic started?” Sheri Freshour said. “Portland does not want these federal officers there, and without any kind of identification? They need to get out until called upon.”

Donnie Snow agreed with Freshour and said in a free country, people don’t get tossed into unmarked vans, commenting on a tactic used by federal police in Portland.

Where do you fall on the situation in Portland? Do you side with the protestors or the federal police? Drop us a comment on our Portland Facebook question and keep an eye on the page for next week’s Facebook Question of the Week.